Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

of the Religious Society of Friends

Peace & Social Justice

Young Friends Support the Peace Fair

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A small but enthusiastic contingent of Young Friends helped make the Bucks Quarter Peace Fair, on September 17, a great success. The Peace Fair brings dozens of nonprofits doing work aligned with Quaker values to a wider audience, along with craft vendors, live music, a book sale, kids’ games and a range of food offerings. Starting the day bright and early, before the opening of the Fair, the Young Friends helped set up vendor booths, unloading the vendors’ materials and putting up tents to keep things moving swiftly.

Their help on Saturday was greatly appreciated, with many members of the Peace Fair committee and Buckingham Friends approaching Friendly Presences and facilitators, expressing how helpful the Young Friends had been, and how deeply grateful they were for our team.

With the help of Tim Cunningham, the Young Friends got trained on how to run the games in the Kids Peace Games area and were assigned to stations. They spent the day staffing the bowling lane, the bean bag toss, the dunk tank, and other various games! Our small but enthusiastic team went all out helping in the games area, explaining the games to kids and making sure every child got a prize after playing, keeping them engaged and excited to play.

Young Friends know how to juggle service and fun!

But it wasn’t all hard work. After the first shift at Peace Games, Young Friends broke for lunch, explored the Fair, and went down to Peddler’s Village together, before regathering to do the second shift of the game booths.

As the Fair came to a close, under the direction of Peter Ray, our Young Friends helped break down and pack away the materials from the Fair, collecting the folding tables from all over the grounds, packing up the Peace Games into cars, the tents, the stage, and the Peace Fair Grill, until everything was stored away in the meetinghouse or in cars. After clean up was done, Young Friends still had energy for a few dynamic rounds of gaga, and enjoyed a pizza party and a celebration of the first Young Friends gathering of the school year (plus the birthday of Young Friends Program Facilitator Clare Chalkley).

Look for announcements about the Young Friends Winter Gathering, coming up in December. Young Friends at the Fair were excited to hear about the gathering in the works, especially with the option of it being an overnight retreat– and we are too! Keep an eye out on the Young Friends events page on the PYM website for information on a gathering around the winter holidays!

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Thanks to the authors of this story, Clare Chalkley, Young Friends Program Facilitator, and Robert Rosenthal (Central Philadelphia Meeting), Friendly Presence, for their planning and care of this annual program in relationship with Bucks Quarter planners!

First Contact Reconciliation Seventh Mo. 2022

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Through engagement, we find meaning in crafting genuine land acknowledgements as possible “first steps” in recognizing Indigenous Peoples who are the original stewards of the lands on which we now live and work. In creating, we are called into collaborating, being accountable, continuously taking up “next steps,” and tending respectful relationships with Indigenous Nations and communities by listening. We encourage the mindful practice of naming the Indigenous People(s) whose land you are on – at home, at work, and/ or while traveling. [Read more…] about First Contact Reconciliation Seventh Mo. 2022

State of the Meeting Reports, 2021-2022

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Spiritual State of the Meeting reports give all of us a glimpse into the communities of meetings in our Yearly Meeting. Together, they create a tapestry that tells the story of our yearly meeting in the last year; a vibrant community engaged in spiritual formation and witness across four states and many experiences of the Spirit. When we are together in residence at an Annual Sessions gathering, there is a thick book with the collected ‘State of the Meeting’ reports. During the years we have gathered online, the special joy of leafing through those printed reports has needed a new model. This year, we again created a virtual “book” of all of the reports. You can access them in this news story and they will also be published in a booklet following Annual Sessions.

[Read more…] about State of the Meeting Reports, 2021-2022

In the Light: The Yearly Meeting’s Print Newsletter

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Earlier this month, we sent out a print newsletter to Friends in the yearly meeting. We plan to send out a print issue of the newsletter quarterly. This issue of the newsletter illustrates a new way in which our yearly meeting has been called—and our faithful response to it—the call to witness against racism. You can read it online. [Read more…] about In the Light: The Yearly Meeting’s Print Newsletter

The Next Spirited Step in Our Witness on Climate Change

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After fifty years of minuting concern about climate change, in March 2021, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting felt it was time for a new approach. On that day, we committed to become more unified by addressing the impending climate catastrophe as a witness—not just as an organization, but as individual Friends and as meetings and as the yearly —everyone a witness!

[Read more…] about The Next Spirited Step in Our Witness on Climate Change

An Urgent Call to the Religious Society of Friends

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Philadelphia Yearly Meeting has endorsed the following Urgent Call to the Religious Society of Friends.  This call to action was authored by an ad hoc group of nineteen Friends, more than half of whom are from Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. In it they share that they see forces at work in our country that undermine some of our basic values: equality of all people, truth-telling, and deep listening.

Christie Duncan-Tessmer, PYM’s General Secretary says, “This call represents our Quaker faith in action: It expresses Truth as discerned in the discipline of relationship and prayer; it calls all to examine how this revelation can lead them to witness and act. It offers us all fellowship on a challenging journey.”

[Read more…] about An Urgent Call to the Religious Society of Friends

Grave Marker, People of African Descent

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A grave marker listing the names and burial years of some people of African descent who were buried in our Abington Meeting Graveyard has been installed. (See photo above.) These names were read out loud and honored during a memorial meeting for worship on October 15, 2016, when the Meeting dedicated the plaque at the entrance of the graveyard honoring those buried in our graveyard whose names are not known to us. At that time, several Meeting members had researched and discovered some lists that included names of people of color (designated by “Col.” next to their names in Quaker records) who were buried in our graveyard. The names were compiled into one list in our program for that Plaque Dedication event, and the memorial meeting for worship took place on that day. [Read more…] about Grave Marker, People of African Descent

Links: Our Food, Our Climate, and Biodiversity Loss

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We have been talking about the connection between our dietary decisions and what happens to the planet’s climate system. What about the interconnected link from our diets to struggling species?

Red wolf communities once populated the continent, from Texas and Oklahoma and Kansas in the west, to Pennsylvania and New Jersey in the east. Were they still here, they’d be naturally curbing the population of white-tailed deer. They are completely gone from our state, chased off by hunting and agribusiness.

Our age has been coined the Anthropocene. We have gone so far as to alter the climate that protects all living beings on Earth. [Read more…] about Links: Our Food, Our Climate, and Biodiversity Loss

Workshop Saturday: Co-Regulating & Building Relationships Toward Equity & Justice

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In this series of stories, we’ll highlight the workshops being offered on Workshop Saturday, June 25. Sessions Coordinating Committee and staff experimented this year with offering a one-day online event that includes five workshops on different topics of interest to Friends in our yearly meeting. We will gather and listen deeply together on a day of connection, learning, and meaningful conversations.

Read on to learn more about the facilitators and intentions of this Workshop Spotlight, and register for a workshop by Thursday, June 23.
[Read more…] about Workshop Saturday: Co-Regulating & Building Relationships Toward Equity & Justice

First Contact Reconciliation Update

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Honor The Promise Campaign (Treaty of Amity: Perpetual Peace and Friendship)

Based on mutual attendance, Honor the Promise yard signs were taken to the 41st Annual Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Powwow, held at the Salem County Fairgrounds. Friends will be keeping alive the story of perpetual peace and friendship. Who is represented by this sacred wampum belt treaty; which rivers represent Lenapehoking; when might the yard signs be displayed? These and more relative inquiries are perpetuating The Treaty of Amity ‘story by the following monthly meetings: Atlantic City Area, Chestnut Hill, Kendal, London Grove, Woodbury, Woodstown; as well as Friends School Mullica Hill and Burlington Meetinghouse; and by request, gifted to the Native American Church/ St John UMC (Fordville) and Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation. [Read more…] about First Contact Reconciliation Update

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